What if Ponch was never a motorcyle cop?
by Ponchygirl
Summary: The first story in my "What If" series. Each story is about something different. Based off one question. This one is about Ponch being in a cruiser before he became a motorcycle cop. But what if being in the cruiser was all he got to do before he left the CHP?
1. The story begins

_Have you ever wondered, "What if Gary (Jon's first partner) never died?" "What if Ponch never got back on his motorcycle in season 5 episode 13,"Breaking point?" "What if Jon finished his story about Ponch, in season 1 episode 7 "Taking its Toll?" "What if..." There are lots of "What If" questions, about stuff that could've happened. Welcome to the "What if." Series, where all of those questions are answered._

 _"What if Ponch was never a motorcycle cop?"_

 _In this story, Ponch is at the CHP, but he isn't a motorcycle cop yet. He started out as a cop in a cruiser. The question the whole story is based upon is, "What if Ponch was never a motorcycle cop?" So in this story, Ponch never does get the chance to be a motorcycle cop. He ends up leaving the CHP much earlier than he expected to. He never quit or got fired though. So how did he leave? Read more to find out…. Don't forget to review please._

 _Authors note: all of these stories are fictional, none of them are true. Yes some things in the stories might be true, but not everything is. This is just for your enjoyment. So enjoy._

Ponch and Jon sat next to each other in the briefing room. Ponch was in a great mood today. He hadn't seen Getraer at all yet. That might have been why he was so happy. Jon smiled at Ponch.

"You seem happy."

"I haven't gotten into any trouble today," Ponch said cheerfully. Then Getraer walked into the room.

"Um, Poncherello, I think something is wrong."

"What?" Ponch asked.

"You haven't caused any trouble. And on top of that, you are on time for briefing," Getraer replied.

"Sorry, should I do something wrong?" Ponch asked.

"No, I don't think so," Getraer replied. Ponch smiled.

"Good, because I am gonna try not to cause any trouble today," Ponch said cheerfully.

"Good luck with that, Ponch," Bear said in a teasing way. Ponch rolled his eyes. Jon smiled,

"I am sure you can do it," he told Ponch.

"Thanks, at least someone believes in me," Ponch said.

"I believe in you Ponch," Grossie said.

"Oh wait, what is it you are trying to do?" Grossie asked.

"Not get into trouble today," Ponch replied. Grossie tried to hold back laughter.

"Ok, I take that back. Jon is the only one that believes in you still," Grossie said. Ponch wasn't sure if Grossie and Bear really didn't think he could do it. Or if they were just messing with him. So he didn't respond.

 _Meanwhile…._

"I really don't feel like driving today. I hate being in a cruiser. I am excited about motorcycle training though. That starts next week. Not that I wanna go, I just want to be on a motorcycle," Ponch told Jon.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. I think I am gonna get back on my motorcycle soon," Jon said. Ponch looked at Jon with a raised eyebrow.

"You used to be a motorcycle cop?" he asked.

"Yeah, before I met you. I had a partner his name was Gary. We were both motorcycle cops. One day Gary got into a bad accident. I watched him die. I couldn't do anything to help him out. After that, I never wanted to be on a motorcycle again. It was scaring me. I thought that I'd get a new partner. I didn't want to see something like that ever again. So I was in a cruiser for a while. I'm kinda glad I was. I got to meet you, and then my life seemed to get a whole lot better. Because you are gonna be a motorcycle cop, I decided I'd do it too," Jon said.

"Wow, you actually enjoyed your cruiser? It must have better air conditioning than mine," Ponch said. Jon laughed.

"No, I am serious. I think that thing wants me to die from heat stroke or something. It gets so hot in there. The windows don't work right. I think Getraer gave it to me as a punishment," Ponch said. Jon laughed again. He put a hand on Ponch's shoulder,

"It is gonna be ok, Ponch. Next week you'll be out of it. And off in motor school," Jon said.

"Yeah, is that teacher really as bad as Grossie said he was?"

"Even worse, but I think you can handle it," Jon replied. Then Getraer walked past them.

"You two need to get out there where you can be seen," he said.

"Sarge, I am kinda tired. Do you think maybe I could ride with Jon today?" Ponch asked.

"Nice try Poncherello. You were not tired a few seconds ago…."

"A lot can change within three seconds," Ponch said with a forced yawn.

"Poncherello, I can tell you are faking this sudden tiredness. It is ok for you to want to not be in your own cruiser. In fact it is kind of normal for you specifically to not want to be in it. Just remember this Poncherello, in a few weeks; you will be a motorcycle cop. Maybe Jon will consider getting back on his motorcycle and being your partner," Getraer said. Ponch looked over at Jon with a hopeful expression on his face.

"I guess it's a thought," Jon said. Then smiled at Ponch,

"Why wouldn't I want to be partners with my best friend?" Jon asked himself.

"I think I'll have to pray about this. I am not sure if getting back on a motorcycle is the right thing for me right now," Jon said.

"I understand," Getraer said. Then both Jon and Getraer turned their attention back to Ponch.

"So, are you still tired?" Getraer asked.

"Yeah, tired of you," Ponch said then walked away. Jon looked at Getraer.

"He didn't mean it Sarge. He is just fed up with his cruiser it is terrible," Jon said. Getraer nodded his head. Trying to understand, he still wasn't so sure he understood. Life at Central had been so different ever since Ponch came along. Getraer all of the sudden felt like he was more mean to people than he thought he was. Ponch showed a lot of emotions for whatever he was feeling. Most the time towards Getraer it was either anger, or extremely annoyed. Getraer wanted to be Ponch's friend. But before he could do that, he had to get Ponch to understand why Getraer got on his back for the things that he got on his back for. Like going by the book, and writing reports. Ponch hated both. In fact a few times he offered to rewrite the book. Ponch wished he had a partner, so he could have someone else write the reports for him. Getraer wished he could understand Ponch. He seemed so much different from all the other people that he ever had to work with. He had a kind of rough past. He had troubles with opening up to Getraer a little more. He had crazy ideas that got him into trouble all the time. He was a trouble maker. Everyone who knew him knew that. Getraer didn't understand why though.

 _Meanwhile…_

"I think I might meet you somewhere for lunch today. I hate eating alone," Ponch said to Jon.

"Sounds great," Jon replied with a smile. He really did like spending time with Ponch. Ponch was such a great friend to Jon. Jon thought of Ponch more as the younger brother he never had, than a friend. Ponch loved to spend time with Jon too. Jon was like an older brother to him. Of which Ponch already had two of them. But none like Jon.

"Ok, so like twelve thirty or something," Ponch suggested.

"Yeah sure, but it might not be exactly twelve thirty. You never know," Jon said with a smile. Ponch smiled back.

"Ok, I guess its time to go get into my death trap. See ya later," Ponch said. Jon laughed,

"It can't be that bad," he said to Ponch.

"Have you never been inside car number twelve? It is terrible. I wouldn't want anyone else to experience how miserable it is driving around in that car," Ponch said. Jon smiled. He hugged Ponch.

"Hopefully it isn't too bad today," he said.

"Yeah, hopefully," Ponch replied. Then he went towards his car.

 _To Be Continued_


	2. Lunch at Taco Bell

Jon couldn't wait to have lunch with Ponch. His day had been going really slow.

"I am so bored," he said out loud. He saw Grossie go by on a motorcycle.

"Ok, now I really do wish I was on a motorcycle," he told himself. He looked at his watch. It was twelve twenty-eight.

"I highly doubt it will bother Ponch much if we meet two minutes early," Jon said. He grabbed his mic, and contacted Ponch on the radio.

"Hey Ponch, you wanna eat?" he asked. Almost instantly he got a response.

"YES!" Ponch said excitedly.

"You must be hungry," Jon guessed.

"I'm right by Taco Bell, of course I am hungry. I can see you from here," Ponch said then laughed a little.

"You look kinda funny, Jon. You look really freaked out," Ponch said. Jon rolled his eyes. He looked up ahead, and saw Ponch's car parked at Taco Bell. Jon smiled.

"I can see you too. Why are you laughing so hard?" Jon asked. Ponch never responded to the question. He was dying of laughter. He thought Jon looked hilarious when Ponch said he could see him. Jon pulled up beside Ponch. Ponch didn't notice. He was laughing so hard he was in tears. Jon came over, and opened Ponch's door. He grabbed him.

"Got ya, now you gotta tell me what is so funny," Jon said. Ponch smiled at Jon.

"I told you already, that reaction was priceless," Ponch said. Jon smiled.

"I am glad it made you laugh. Now it is time to eat. I am starving."

"Me too," Ponch said. He got out of the car, and followed Jon into Taco Bell.

"I think I am gonna eat two beefy five layer burritos. That sounds amazing right now," Ponch told the girl at the counter. She smiled at him.

"Ok, is that it?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Ok, three dollars and thirty-eight cents please," the lady said. Ponch pulled out his money, and paid her. Jon came up to the counter.

"Ok, my friend forgot to order a drink, so I will get that for him, and one for me. I would also like two beefy Frito burritos," Jon said.

"Ok, that would be four dollars and ninety-eight cents please," the lady said. Jon paid her. She handed him two cups. Jon smiled at Ponch.

"Here ya go Ponch, you forgot to order one," Jon said. Ponch smiled,

"Thanks, how much do I owe ya?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jon replied.

"Really?" Ponch asked.

"Yeah," Jon said. Ponch smiled,

"You are the best. Thanks Jon," Ponch said.

"You're welcome," Jon replied.

 _Meanwhile…._

Ponch and Jon sat at the table and eat their lunches.

"So, anything exciting today?" Ponch asked.

"No, what about you?"

"I got a flat tire. I got out to change it, and someone came to help me. It was nice of them. I over heated in my car. This place feels amazing," Ponch said.

"Really, I thought it was really cold in here," Jon said.

"No, it is perfect in here," Ponch said. Jon smiled.

"It must be awful in your car," Jon said.

"It would be nice in there, if it were like twenty degrees outside," Ponch said. Jon laughed.

"I don't know why you laugh every time I tell you about the temperature in there. Oh, on top of that, the seat belt is acting up. It won't let me go half the time. So it takes me a while to get out of there. I was trying to give a speeding ticket to someone. And had to call for back up, because I couldn't get unbuckled. Bear showed up, he laughed at me. I am glad I did call for back up. That person had a knife. Anyway, I did get out of the car eventually."

"Wow, does Getraer know about your car?"

"Yeah, but he thinks that I was just exaggerating," Ponch replied.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. He thinks that you exaggerate about everything. Ever since that one time, when you told him there was a spider as big as him in the briefing room, and it was only as big as a dinner plate," Jon said remembering that.

"Well, sorry, I was scared, and sometimes my imagination works a little more when I am scared," Ponch said. Then smiled.

"I hope that made sense," he said.

"Yeah, it kind of did. I've been hanging out with you long enough to understand you most the time," Jon replied. Ponch smiled.

"Well, sadly it is time to get back to work," Jon said. Ponch looked really sad.

"Really? Do we have to?" Ponch asked.

"Yeah," Jon said.

"Good bye air conditioning. I love you," Ponch said before he went outside. Jon rolled his eyes.

"Ponch, you are so weird," Jon said. Ponch smiled.

"You wanna switch cars?" he asked.

"No, I think I have heard enough about that car to know I don't wanna be in it," Jon said.

"Ok, well I'll see ya later Jon," Ponch said. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open.

"Are you serious? Come on door, I know you can open," Ponch said. Jon watched this. The door wouldn't open, no matter how hard Ponch tried.

"Ok, that is it, I am gonna just climb in through the window. Does that make you happy?" Ponch said to the car. He climbed in through the window. Then he noticed Jon was watching him. He smiled and waved.

"Hi, my car doesn't want to let me in through the door," Ponch said. Jon smiled,

"Ok, I am gonna go with you to tell Getraer about this later," Jon said.

"Thanks," Ponch replied.

 _To Be Continued…_

 _Authors note: be prepared the next chapter is kinda sad._


	3. Ponch leaves the CHP unexpectedly

Ponch and Jon were both going after a speeder. Jon had started the pursuit, but then called for backup. Ponch was behind Jon. His car was being dumb as usual.

"Jon, I don't think I'll be able to make it up that hill," Ponch said into the mic. Jon heard that on his radio.

"I think you can Ponch, it isn't that big," Jon responded. Ponch tried. He did make it up there. But he was not expecting what happened next. As soon as you get to the top of the hill, it just goes right back down. Like a roller coaster. Jon and the speeder were farther ahead. Ponch started to roll down the hill fast. He stomped on the breaks they were not working as well as Ponch hoped they would. By the time he finally did get his car stopped, it was partially hanging off the cliff. If it fell, there was nothing down there. Ponch couldn't get the car to back up.

"This is just great. I guess I'll have to get outta here," Ponch said. He tried to unbuckle, but the seat belt was still acting up.

"This is no time to do this to me. Please let me go," Ponch said to the seat belt. It never responded thankfully. Ponch was freaked out now,

"I can't get outta here," he told himself. Although he couldn't get unbuckled, he wanted to see if the door would open. Even if he slammed his body into it really hard it would not open. Ponch grabbed the mic again.

"Jon, I'm gonna die," Ponch said panicked.

"What? Ponch where are you?" Jon asked.

"On the edge of the cliff. My car won't back up. My seat belt won't let me go, and my door is jammed," Ponch said. Jon had already caught the speeder and given him his ticket.

"Ponch, stay calm. Don't move, I will be right there," Jon said.

"Stay calm? How can I do that?" Ponch asked freaked out.

"Take a deep breath, let it out. And do that a few times. I should be there soon," Jon said. Ponch took a deep breath, and let it out. It didn't help much. He once again tried to get his seat belt off. Jon got there just in time to see the car start to fall over the edge. He got out of his car and ran over. He reached out to grab the car, and try to save Ponch, but as soon as he got close enough the car fell.

"PONCH!" Jon screamed. He got into his car, and quickly got to the spot where the car had fallen. The car was all beat up, and laying upside down. Jon was almost in tears.

"You better still be alive in there," he said. He tried to open the door. It was jammed even worse.

"Oh come on, open up. My best friend is in there!" Jon yelled at the door. He couldn't get it to open. He tried to look in the car through the window. All he could see was blood on the window. Jon got really upset.

"This is all your fault Getraer. If you would've listened to Ponch he wouldn't be in here!" Jon yelled. Jon once again tried to open the door. He had no luck. He went to the other side. The door opened on his second try. He saw blood all over in the car.

"Ponch?" he asked as he looked in the car. He got no reply he could hear Ponch breathing though. It was a sound that almost made him cry though. It sounded as if someone was strangling Ponch. Jon tried to unbuckle Ponch. The seat belt was stuck. Jon went back to his car, and pulled out his pocket knife. He went back, and cut Ponch's seat belt off. He pulled Ponch out of the car. Jon put Ponch's head on his lap. He gentle brushed the hair out of his eyes with his fingers.

"Ponch, are you ok?" he asked. Ponch didn't respond. His eyes were closed. He was trying to calm down. He could barely breathe.

"Ponch, I am gonna call for help," Jon said. Jon left Ponch for a second to call for help. Then came right back.

"Oh God, don't let me lose Ponch too. I lost Gary already. I don't want to lose Ponch," Jon prayed.

"Baker?" Jon heard Getraer's voice on the radio.

"What?" Jon asked into his mic.

"What happened?" Getraer asked.

"Ponch's car was acting up like usual. He was right at the edge of a cliff. It wouldn't back up. The door wouldn't open, and his seat belt wouldn't let go of him. His car fell off that cliff, and he was still trapped in there. I just freed him, and his breathing sounds like someone is strangling him. It is not a sound I like to hear. The whole inside of his car is covered in blood. Sarge, none of this ever would've happened, if you would've given him a different car, or let him ride with me today."

"You can't blame all of this on me Baker," Getraer said starting to raise his voice.

"Sarge, when you know that you are right, you tell someone right?"

"Well yeah."

"Ok, well I know that I am right. This is all your fault," Jon said angrily. Getraer did not know how to respond to that.

"Sarge, I can't believe you would not let him have a different car. You should see the car now. If he survives this, you better apologize," Jon continued.

"Baker, what do you mean if he survives this?" Getraer asked.

"It is starting to look like Ponch is gonna be leaving the CHP much sooner than he expected to," Jon said. Ponch could hear Jon's voice. But he was in too much pain to talk. _"He's starting to give up on me,"_ Ponch thought. He wanted so badly to ask Jon not to give up yet. He was doing his best to stay alive. Breathing hurt way to much more than it should've. Ponch looked up at Jon, his brown eyes were wide, and filled with fear. Ponch didn't want to die. And he certainly did not want Jon to give up on him.

"I'm sorry Sarge. I gotta go, Ponch is looking at me with an expression like he really needs me right now," Jon said.

"Ok, I will meet you at the hospital," Getraer said. Jon turned his attention back to Ponch. Ponch had tears in his eyes.

"Hey, calm down Ponch. Everything is gonna be ok. I won't leave you," Jon said. Ponch stared at Jon.

 _"_ _Are you serious? You just were giving up on me. And now you expect me to believe you won't leave me? You realize I heard your conversation with Getraer right?"_ Ponch thought. He wanted to say that to Jon, but he couldn't find his voice.

"Ponch, are you ok?" Jon asked. He got no response. Ponch's eyes started to close.

"Ponch, don't close your eyes please. I don't want to lose you," Jon said. Ponch tried to keep his eyes open for as long as he could. But finally, he couldn't do it anymore. His eyes closed.

"Ponch? Ponch are you still there?" Jon asked. He got no response. Ponch's breathing wasn't very loud anymore. Jon at first thought it was because Ponch felt a little better. But then Jon realized it was because Ponch wasn't breathing. Jon tried to get Ponch to breathe again. But he was afraid of hurting Ponch while trying to save him. By the time paramedics and ambulances showed up, Ponch was gone. He had died. He left the CHP earlier than he wanted to. He never quit, never got fired, and never became a motorcycle cop. He died a week before he could.

THE

END

 _Authors Note: thankfully, this did not happen. Ponch never died. He became a motorcycle cop. As far as I know, this never happened at all. I don't think Ponch ever got in an accident with his cruiser. But I don't know for sure. It is never mentioned. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. If you like the "What If" series please let me know. I want to know if you are enjoying it. If you have a "What If?" Question that you would like me to write about let me know in your review. I'd love to see what you want to read._


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